


Severus Snape and the Avengers

by ThisThingHere



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Crossover, Freeform, Gen, Severus Snape Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-03
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2020-03-30 02:19:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,037
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19032745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisThingHere/pseuds/ThisThingHere
Summary: Severus Snape is approached by Nick Fury after the events of Deathly Hallows and enlisted as part of the earth's defense team known as the Avengers.





	1. Prologue

Tucked away in a dingy apartment in the back alley of New York City's Greenwich Village, a pale man is silently at work. "Blasted pains." he hissed under his breath as the still healing wound to his neck throbbed.

"Severus Snape." came a voice, starling the man and causing him to turn around. Sat in the worn leather arm chair was a black man wearing an eye patch and sporting a well trimmed goatee. "My name's Nick Fury, I've come to have a chat with you."

"How do you know my name and how did you get into my apartment?" Severus asked as he reached for his wand, to better confront the intruder.

"Easy there, I'm just here to talk." Fury answered, holding up his hands in surrender. "I work for an agency know as S.H.I.E.L.D, we work to discover and take care of any possible threats that might seek to destroy or take over the earth."

"And you've come to "take care" of me, have you?" Severus questioned as he casually perched on his desk. He was acting relaxed but he was tense, whoever this Fury was he had been able to figure out he had survived, tracked him down, broke through his various protective spells, some of which were of his own creation, and sneaked into his apartment unbeknownst to the former double agent. But as he had once promised his old mentor, if needed, he'd face the fight and not run.

"Actually, I wan't to recruit you as part of our special defense force." Fury said coolly.

"I'm flattered but why choose me?" Severus prompted skeptically as he moved his wand between the fingers of his right hand. "And you still haven't answered my first questions."

"S.H.I.E.L.D, as part of our protocol of protecting the earth, have been doing our best to keep tabs on what you know as "the wizarding world" as difficult a task that may be. Seemingly, most wizards tend to enjoy wiping the slate clean and pretending that they don't exist. So, you can understand how difficult a task that can be?" Fury stated then slowly getting to his feet, he pointed to Severus, "You've been on our radar for a while, watching to see your next moves and that led us here. And when you wizards don't want to be found, you really don't want to be found. But to somewhat answer your question: I might not know magic myself but I know several individuals that do."

Several individuals? Severus thought to himself and shrugged, "Even if I did join your little club, if I so much as light the end of my wand in public, M.A.C.U.S.A would throw me in a cell or have me executed in seconds. Though this being America, probably both. If not deport me to the Ministry of Magic's custody, to face some nonsense war crime charges." But then Fury smirked, taking him momentarily off guard.

Handing Severus a business card, he said, "We've been in talks together and, if you decide to join, they are willing to look the other way as part of a trail basis." He then went to leave before adding, "It's the skyscraper with the giant A on the front in Manhattan, can't miss it." And with that he left the apartment, leaving Severus to his thoughts.

***

"So, how did it go?" asked Doctor Strange's astral form as he floated alongside Nick Fury as he arrived back at headquarters.

"I can't be certain but I think I might've intrigued him enough to at least give it a shot." Fury admitted.

"And if he does, I will be sure to pop by for a visit." Doctor Strange nodded. "Just to keep a close eye on him."

"Oh?" Fury said, raising an eyebrow.

"Tracking Severus Snape wasn't that much of a task as magic leaves an energy trace, but working around all of the protective and cloaking spells was difficult." Doctor Strange explained, scratching his head. "I was stuck trying to crack one of them for three days straight. They were like nothing I've ever experienced before."

"I'll let you know as soon as we hear anything and, thank you for your help in this matter." Fury replied. "If this works, it could be a big step forward in progress."

"I hope so, it would be nice to have more magic users on the side of good." Doctor Strange agreed and with that his astral form disappeared through an adjoining wall, leaving Fury to his work.


	2. Chapter One

Severus Snape looked from the business card to the building with the giant metal A on the side and nodded, this was the place. He was wearing simple muggle clothing as to not raise suspicious looks from the casual New Yorker or curious tourist. It was nothing special just dark blue jeans, a black t-shirt and cargo jacket, and a backpack slung over his right shoulder. It was too hot for the jacket but it made him feel more comfortable in the foreign feeling garb. Let's hope there's no big A's inside too. thought Severus with a small chuckle before tapping the card to his forehead with a sigh at laughing at his own joke.

"S.H.I.E.L.D appreciates your cooperation on this matter, of course." Fury said as he walked besides Severus through the lobby while the wizard clipped a badge to the front of his jacket that listed him as "Personnel". 

"Of course." Severus nodded as they stepped into an elevator. "I take it then that you've briefed the others?"

Fury pressed the button to the top floor and answered, "We've had a meeting with the main residences and a handful of our regular visitors, where they were informed about you as well as a simplified explanation of your abilities. However, that's all we've told them. The rest is for your own digression to disclose."

Severus hummed in thought and prompted, "Anything that I should be briefed on before I meet the others?"

Fury reached into his jacket and retrieved a small portable electronic device, tapping and swiping at the screen a picture of a smartly dressed white man in glasses smiled awkwardly. "This is Doctor Bruce Banner. Biochemist and nuclear physicist. Word to the wise, don't ever make him angry or be faced with the one thousand four hundred pounds of gamma radiated mass known as the Hulk." he explained and then swiping the screen again, the picture changed to that of a green creature twice the since of the man before which was mostly a cluster of muscles. Turning the device off and putting it away he added, "The Hulk is the only main concern you need to worry about but I'm sure once news gets out that you've arrived, the others will want to make themselves known to you."

The elevator pinged as it opened up onto the top deck of the skyscraper and as they stepped out; Severus spotted something darting about in front of his face, he was about to swat it away when he realized it wasn't a bug but a thumb sized women with black hair and wearing fake see through wings that fluttered as she hovered at his eye level. "I knew it!" she said before flying off down a nearby corridor. "Hey guys, I was right. The new guy's just arrived with Fury."

Severus turned to Fury with his eyebrow raised and was about to ask what that was all about, when suddenly a man came running to a halt in front of him closely followed by the pint sized women. "You the new guy?" the man asked between pants. "The wizard?" He then looked between Severus and Fury.

"Severus Snape this is Scott Lang and Hope Pym or better known as Ant-man and Wasp." Fury introduced them.

Lang grasped Severus by the arm and shuck it vigorously as he stated, "Wow, really wow. I love magic, so it's so cool to meet a wizard. I've already met Doctor Strange but he told me that sorcerers and wizards aren't the same thing, so now I've met a sorcerer and a wizard."

"Pleasure." Severus said as he managed to pull his hand from the man's grasp.

"I'll leave you to get acquainted." Fury told him while he strode off around the corner.

"Hark, tis a new mortal to join us in our forays into the lairs of villains." boomed a tall blond man as he approached Severus, his red cape billowing behind him. "I am the mighty Thor, champion of Asgard and God of Thunder. I bid thee welcome."

Severus blinked unsure of how to response to such a declaration. "Thank you?" he tested, squinting.

"Okay guys, let the poor man breath." came another voice as a red haired women stepped around Thor and came to stand next to Severus. "Come with me and let's get you settled before the others get curious." And with that they left while several pairs of eyes tracked their movements and gentle whispers began. "The name's Natasha Romanoff also known as Black Window, I'm guessing Fury gave you a bare minimum run down of how things work around here?"

"More like footnotes." he replied. "He told me that you help defend the earth, said if I joined I'd get a free pass to use my magic in public and warned me about a man named Banner, was it?"

"Bruce, yeah that's right. He's a sweetheart but you don't want to get on his ugly side. Trust me." she nodded and pushing open a door, she held it for him, and allowed him to step inside. It was a lavish sized bedroom with a king sized bed among other amenities that all matched each others colour scheme. "This is your room for now, so take your time to get comfortable. I know it can be pretty daunting to suddenly be surrounded by so many people who all have different personalities and powers or quirks but you'll get used to it. But tell me something, and be honest with me?" At this Severus raised his right eyebrow at her request, she continued, "Are you doing this because you genuinely care about defending the earth? Or for the perks alone?"

Severus debated with himself for a split second about telling her the truth and then sighed as he stared out at the vast jungle of buildings, "Being able to use my magic in a liberal manner and not have to care about being seen, is the thing that won me over." He wasn't ashamed of that fact, she could have no idea how liberating a feeling it was to know that he could use his magic in front of muggles and not see repercussions for doing so. He doubted that anyone in the tower could understand that feeling.

"Usually, those who stay only for the bonuses tend to leave within a month or branch out on their own." she hummed. "It'll be interesting to see what you do." And with that she left the room, the door closing behind her.

Severus stared at the door for a moment and slipped his backpack off of his shoulder and sat it on the floor. Then retrieving his wand from his trouser pocket, he opened up the bags top pocket and with a wave of his wand, his belongings began to neatly file out. Keeping his wand at hand, he peered into the adjoining rooms and found one to be an ensuite bathroom while the other was a walk-in wardrobe. "Oh no, no, this wont do at all." he mumbled dismissively and with a swirl and swish of his wand and gesturing towards himself, the clothing rails disappeared as shelves began to blossom forth; covering the walls. "Much more practical." He then caught his reflection in the window and sighed, "What am I doing?" Dragging a hand lightly down his face, he sank down onto the bed.

Suddenly an alarm began to sound outside of his room, causing him to spring to his feet. "What is it?" came Fury's voice as Severus poked his head around the door.

"Looks like Hydra agents in lower Manhattan have broken into a local science lab." informed a man with brown spiked hair, who had a strange glowing blue circle at the center of his chest.

"And where there's Hydra, Red Skull isn't far behind." added a man with neatly trimmed blond hair, loathing in his tone.

"I'll keep watch from here while you deal with Hydra." Fury stated. "Signal me if you need back up."

"Let's suit up, team." announced the blond.

"Snape, since you're here, this would be a good opportunity for you to see first hand what we do here." Fury said as Severus looked to the strange see through screens with pictures of soldiers piling out of the back of a truck with a red symbol that looked like an octopus but the head was replaced with a skull. Subtle. "Agent Romanoff, you have the item I requested?"

"Right here." the red head answered as she handed Fury a metallic briefcase.

Setting the briefcase onto the table, Fury peered inside before sliding it across to Severus who cautiously peered inside. "Until a more permanent outfit can be made to your own specifics, we hope this will service for now. S.H.I.E.L.D understands your particular need for keeping your face out of the public eye as much as possible."

"We have several people, who for their own safety and privacy have to remain hidden behind masks and false identities." Romanoff explained as she tapped a device on her left wrist. "Usually, if the individuals haven't already come up with their own names' we like to go by the mother's maiden name, if and when possible. Is that fine by you?"

"I suppose Prince will do, for now." Severus shrugged, he was rather relieved they weren't going to give him some obnoxious nickname like Magic Man or Spellmagedon.

"Right, let's do what the old man says and get suited and booted." interrupted the brown haired man as he dabbed at the various screen surrounding himself. "J.A.R.V.I.S, is the Mark Seventeen up and running?"

"Fully charged and ready for deployment, sir." answered a English accent over the intercom.

Closing the case, Severus picked it up by the handle and headed back to his room, "Give me a moment."

Severus emerged two minutes later dressed in what to him, felt like an assassin and a ninja's uniform molded into one. He was wearing a thin black balaclava-like mask but instead of separate eye holes they joined in the middle. His mouth was covered and the top was open, allowing his shoulder length hair to spill over the sides. The body was a one piece that cinched in at his waist, made of mostly black material with exception of two triangles of white fabric that emerged from beneath the sleeves and attached with loops to his middle fingers. And the boots where also black and stopped halfway up his shin with a bit of weight to them. "I look like I'm about to sneak up behind someone and slit their throat." he expressed, looking down at himself.

"Good, then hopefully Hydra wont see you coming." came the brown haired man's voice as a scarlet and gold metal figure walked passed Severus and stepped out onto the balcony, the wizard following behind him, out of curiosity. "I'll get the crowd warmed up." And with that the metal man blasted off into the night's sky.

"Pft, show off." Severus mumbled under his breath with a roll of his eyes.

"You want a ride down?" Romanoff offered from the main room.

"No, I'll meet you there." Severus dismissed and taking a few steps backwards, he ran towards the balcony's glass fencing and with a leap, he propelled himself into the air and, flew off after the red dot in the near distance.


	3. Chapter Two

Severus Snape raced through the air after the red and gold speck that became a red and gold blob until he was at the metal man's elbow. "Who is this Hydra, anyway?" he asked wanting to know more about the situation he was going to be facing head on.

Though he couldn't see the man's expression beneath the metal plate, he guessed he was shocked to see him, if the double take was anything to go by. The man then cleared his throat and explained, "I don't know what goes on in your world but, did you ever hear about Nazis? Third Reich and all that jazz? Basically that but with modern technology and tactics."

"That explains the logos." Severus replied thinking back to the weird skull octopus. "Would I be wrong in assuming then that this Red Skull is their version of Hitler?"

"Something like that." the other man answered. "But don't worry about Red Skull, Cap will probably deal with him if he shows his ugly face. They have a long standing grudge going back decades. Focus on taking out as many Hydra agents as possible."

"Got it and if possible, I'm guessing find out what they wanted with that laboratory." Severus nodded as they came to a halt in midair.

"Now, let's put the ass back into to fascist." the metal man said.

"Not sure if that joke tracks." Severus mumbled.

"Eh, close enough." the other man shrugged and rapidly descended down into the city streets, Severus following closely behind. As they landed in the middle of an emptying road, with the metal man for whatever reason deciding to land on bent knee and embedding his fist into the tarmac, several Hydra soldiers turned to them in surprise. "Sorry guys but parties over, so why don't you all head off home, daddy skull is waiting for you."

"Offenes feuer!" called one of the soldiers as he adjusted his grip on his gun. 

Severus managed to duck behind the metal man as a hail of bullets sprayed forth at them. "Did you ever hear the expression "Don't poke a sleeping dragon."?" he sneered in annoyance as he retrieved his wand and whispered, "Ignis Clypeus." A thin see through layer surrounded Severus' body.

"Yeah, probably should have thought about that a second longer." the other man mumbled. "You want me to draw them off while you take cover?"

"No, I've got this." Severus said smugly as he stepped out from his hiding spot and into the line of fire his wand outstretched. The bullets that flew towards him got no more than an inch close to him before they were eroded away by purple flames and Severus glared darkly at the soldiers, most of who suddenly turned and ran, leaving the squad leader behind. Despite the fear in the man's eyes he continued to spray Severus with bullets, even as the wizard slowly made his way towards him. The gun gave a couple of useless clicks, signalling that the magazine was empty as Severus stopped a foot away from the Hydra agent and taking the weapon from the man's shaking hands; Severus struck him with the butt of the gun and sent the man falling to the floor unconscious. He then discarded the gun with a disgusted grunt, "Ugh, muggle weaponry."

"This is Fury, we have a code green." Fury's voice spoke through an ear piece, taking Severus momentarily off guard. "We have civilians trapped in a hotel on Howard Street, looks like some armed criminals have taken advantage of the mayhem and are holding them hostage."

"This is Prince to Fury, I'm on my way." Severus answered and then begrudgingly he added, "Though, I may need back up."

"Copy that, Prince I'll meet you there." came the voice of the short haired blond. "Stark and Romanoff, keep us posted on Hydra's activity?"

"Roger that." replied Romanoff's voice.

"Got it." replied the metal man. "You think we need Thunder Thighs and Big Green?"

"No, it's nothing we can't contain ourselves." answered the blond as Severus took to the skies, heading for Howard Street. "But if more criminals worm their way out of their hide outs we might have to call them in." There was a pause and he added, "I'm around the corner from the hotel, I can see at least three masked and armed men in the lobby. Prince, are you close?"

"Just a few streets away now." Severus answered. He had never been a brave man, jumping into situations with a courageous leap. He wasn't that bullheaded and foolish but when the call had come in, something about it had struck a nerve with the former spy. It reminded him of being behind enemy lines, playing his part as double agent. And whenever possible, he would smuggle prisoners out from under the Dark Lord's nose. He would of course, cause them to forget his involvement and replaced their memory of him with a vague and blurry figure. If not for their safety but for that of his own. He wasn't doing it for the recognition, God knows he wasn't doing it for his own health. He did it because... he wasn't sure. He was doing it because it was the right thing to do but also, there lingered a sense of guilt and with that guilt came foreboding thoughts that he pushed to the back of his mind.

Severus spotted the man in the blue uniform, crouched with his shield in the shadows just out of sight of the hotel and slowly and carefully landed in a tree nearby. Climbing gently to the ground, he approached the other man. "So, what's the plan?" he whispered.

"We can't go in the front and potentially risk harm to the captives." the other man answered. "Our best bet is to lure them out and pick them off one by one, if possible. What we really need is to find the security cameras and strategize how to take them down in the most efficient way possible."

"Usually the security monitors are on the ground floor, so that's a no go." Severus hummed in thought and then tapping a finger to his lips he asked, "Don't hotels have panic rooms? Or am I misremembering?"

Pressing one of his fingers to his ear the blond prompted, "Fury, any intel on possible panic rooms in the hotel?"

"There's one located in the basement, down the west hallway." Fury told them.

"Got it." the blond nodded. "Let's see what we can do." He then paused and added, "I've not introduced myself yet have I? Captain Steve Rogers." He then slowly stood and keeping to the shadows they both vaulted a wall and crouched besides the back door.

Holding up a finger to his lips, Severus raised his wand to the door's keyhole and tapped it. Hearing a soft click as the lock disengaged he whispered, "Step carefully." He then snaked around the door, his eyes darting about himself as he grasped his wand firmly, the captain and his shield following closely behind. They had turned down a narrow corridor when Rogers held up his hand, signalling Severus to halt. "What is it?" he prompted, adjusting his grip.

"There's a guard up ahead." Rogers said quietly.

"Armed?"

"Not that I can see."

Checking that no one else was around, Severus leaned closer and stated, "Okay, I'll go up ahead but be ready to catch." Before the other man could question what Severus meant, he had surged forwards towards the man and once the guard spotted him, he hit the man with the body-bind curse.

Rogers just managed to sprint forwards and catch the man's body as he was about to crash to the floor. "A bit more warning would have been nice. What did you do to him, anyway?"

"Temporary paralysis." Severus answered kneeling besides the man's lifeless body but waving his hand in front of his face, the man's eyes followed his hands. "Completely harmless but we have to move fast as it'll wear off soon." He then removed from his pocket what looked to be flesh coloured string, something he had personally confiscated from the Weasley twins after seeing one end being threaded beneath his office door which he had promptly stepped on much to the two and their friend Lee Jordan's pained groans. He had had no idea what it was however after a thorough examination he discovered that it was meant for listening in on private conversations, the sneaky bastards. It was devilishly clever and, as such Severus felt perfectly justified in keeping it.

Feeding one end carefully through the door's keyhole but not too much that it would poke out the other end, just in case there where people inside, he listening for a moment but not hearing so much as a breath from inside, he rolled the string back up and opened the door with his wand. "Through here." Severus said as he grabbed the immobile man by the shoulder and with the help of Rogers they moved the man into the room.

Closing the door behind them and summoning spellotape from one of his pockets which he used to bind the man and cover his mouth. "That's going to be painful to take off." Severus noted, gesturing to the mustache that was mixed in with the tape.

"So, the safe room is somewhere in here." Rogers stated, placing his shield securely onto his back. Severus then watched as the captain moved his feet rigidly along the floorboards as if testing for something. Rogers then repeat the strange motion on the left hand side and concluded, "Yep, the entrance is definitely on the left. There should a hidden switch or button somewhere."

"How do you know that?" Severus pondered as he helped Rogers searched for the button.

"I felt the incline with my feet and noticed that the left floorboards dipped slightly in comparison to the right side." Rogers explained. "And-"

"And the heavy set panic room would cause that difference." Severus nodded as he felt the underside of a shelf when his finger brushed against something that could have been mistaken for a burr in the wood and so, he pressed it.

Tumblers sounded from the other side of the wall and an opening appeared to them. Wasting no time, they moved inside the room and found what they had been looking for, monitors showing them the live feed of each corridor, the lobby, the vault and the kitchens in the hotel. "We have visual." Rogers murmured as he leaned closer to the screens and rubbed his chin.

"So, what's the plan from here?" Severus inquired as his eyes lazily drifted over the monitors, wanting to know how good this Captain Steve Rogers was at strategizing.


	4. Chapter Three

Rogers pointed his index finger at the ground floor west corridor where there was two guards stationed, armed with guns and said, "Those are twelve gauge, pump action shotguns which means we have to account for twelve bullets between them before they need to reload. Ideally, we would need to lay them out without a single shot going off and alerting the others to possible intruders as they may decide to send back up. I could try taking them out with my shield but there's no guarantee that they wont alert the others or try to get some shots off, in the process."

"That's the body-bind curse out the window then, unless we want them to hear the sound of a least one body hitting the ground like a concrete slab." Severus nodded in understanding.

"The best solution would be if we could get into one of the nearby guest rooms and ambush them from inside. " Rogers pointed out. "But since we don't have that liberty-"

"Actually, there is a way but it's a shot in the dark and highly experimental." Severus cut in. "We could try appariting but usually you require a detailed recollection of the area in order to do so but since we'd only be travelling a short distance-" At Rogers' confused stare, he added "It's like teleportation. But it comes with it's own risks to factor in. It's more of a last resort option."

"How much of a risk?" Rogers probed, standing to his full height and looking Severus in his eyes.

"Body displacement, splinching: a rather nasty injury that could lead to death, our bodies and minds becoming one... I shouldn't have brought it up." Severus shrugged.

"Hmm." Rogers nodded. "If we can get rid of those two guards we'd have a clear route to the hostages and the last couple of guards holding them."

"Are you suggesting we should try appariting?" Severus asked, narrowing his eyes at the other man.

"I'm asking you: how confident are you in yourself and your abilities?" Rogers questioned. "Outside of Doctor Strange, I don't know many magic types. So, show me what you can do?"

"You'd risk death for the slightest chance of saving people you don't even know?"

"I once jumped on a dummy grenade believing it was real to save strangers I didn't know, including those who had bullied me in the past. And yes, I'd do it again."

Severus leaned away, rolled his eyes and grunted "Fine but no more moralizing." Then holding out his arm, he continued "Take hold of my arm and don't let go until I tell you to." As soon as Rogers took a firm hold of his arm; Severus smirked as he said "How strong is your constitution?"

"Why do you as-" Rogers began but before he could finish his sentence, Severus had turned on the spot and with a sound like a car backfiring, they were gone.

Severus felt his shoes once again touch solid ground as he stood in total blackness. He was physically well and he could still feel Rogers' grip on his arm but part of him hesitated to light the end of his wand least he discover that the rest of the captain had not traveled with him. "Lumos."

"Where are we?" whispered Rogers, who squinted at the light emitted from Severus' wand.

"A bathroom?" Severus stated as he peered through the darkness at the white tiles lining the floor and halfway up the walls; grateful that they had arrived safely. "We should still be cautious, they may have heard us and, there's no guarantee that we're in the right position." Finding the door handle, he opened and looked out into a normal, if not a bit messy and cluttered, guest room. Severus then gestured for Rogers to follow after him as they both crept along on bent knees towards the door. Gingerly he opened the door a slither and peaked out. Outside the door with their back to them where the two guards from the surveillance footage. Closing the door, he turned back to Rogers and said softly "We're in position, what's the plan?"

"Which way are the guards facing?"

"Backs facing."

"Backs facing and still armed?"

"Yes."

Rogers hummed for a second and then answered, "Okay, I'm going to stand on the other side of the door. I want you to station yourself in the bathroom, ready to move when necessary. I'm going to alert the guards and once the door's open, we need to act quickly as more than likely they'll come looking for the source of the noise together, for security. Cons tend to be heavily paranoid, especially on the job. I can take out the first guard but I need to trust you to take out the second. Can I trust you with that?"

Severus blinked twice, unsure of how to respond.

"I'll take that as a yes." Rogers interpreted and moved into position besides the door, prompting Severus to take his spot, tucked just around the corner of the bathroom entrance, keeping his eyes on Rogers.

The captain then held up three fingers. Then two. Then one and pulled open the room's door and closed. It wasn't a slam but the noise was just load enough to be noticeable from a short distance. "What was that?" came a grunt from outside the room. "I thought I heard something."

Severus watched, wand in hand as the hotel door opened and two masked men stepped into the room; guns in hand. From behind the now opened door came the captain's shield and with a Thunk! it was brought down on the first guard's head. "Stupefy." he incanted as he sprung from his hiding place, sending the second guard sprawling to the floor besides the first guard. Moving quickly, they grabbed the two guards and dragged them through to the bathroom, laying one in the tub and the other on the flooring before also binding and gagging them with spell o tape. They then crouched and made their way towards the lobby. "You said it should be a clear route to the last few guards, right?"

"Roger." the captain nodded as they stepped quickly but silently along the corridor, stopping just out of sight of the main entrance. Severus watched silently as Rogers moved passed him and peered through the dense foliage of a nearby potted plant. "There they are." he whispered, turning back to Severus he continued "There's three of them and all the hostages are laying face down on the floor."

"Tell me what you need me to do?" Severus said firmly.

Rogers' eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled "I like your moxie, soldier." Then retrieving his shield from his back he added "I need you to help me dispatch all three in as quick a succession as possible, be as loud as you need to be just remember to keep in mind that there are civilians in the mix. Ready?"

Steeling himself, Severus reaffirmed his grasp on his wand before giving Rogers a sharp nod.

Rogers sprinted out first, holding up his shield, Severus taking shelter behind it as they both sprung to their full height; taking the guards by surprise. In quick and fluid movements, Severus hurled the stunning spell at two guards that stood to their right and sending forth snake-like tendrils beneath the captains shield which wrapped around the third and final guard's right leg, and with a forceful tug, the guard was dragged towards them and without hesitation Rogers backhanded the man with his shield; sending him flying backwards into the left hand wall before crumbling to the floor, unconscious. Then... applause? The captives got to their feet, they clapped, they cried, they laughed, they hugged one another and then as the police made their way into the building and began handcuffing the assailants, they impishly made their way over to Severus and Rogers; firmly grasping them by the hand.

"Oh lord, I never thought I'd be getting out of there alive." said an elderly women as she clutched her handbag to her side. "Let alone be shaking hands with Captain America, himself."

"All in a days work, mam." Rogers nodded.

"And who might you be, young man?" she asked turning her eyes to Severus, who was unsure of what to say.

"This is Prince, our newest recruit." Rogers interjected, seeming to pick up on how uncomfortable Severus was feeling. "Actually, today's his first day as an Avenger."

"Is that right?" she said with an intrigued look. "Well, you stay close to the good captain, here."

Severus said nothing but nodded.

"Cap, Prince, heard everything has panned out alright." the metal man's voice cut through. "I've got good news and bad news."

"Lay it on us, Tony?" Rogers instructed.

"Hydra got away but we were able to locate research and a couple of encrypted schismatics from the lab." Stark explained. "It might help us piece together what Hydra has planned. We're heading back to base now."

"Copy that, returning to base." Rogers replied and turned back to Severus. "Are you coming, Prince?"

"Not much else to do around here, unless you want to rent a room for the night?" Severus answered with a shrug.

"I'll take that as a yes." Rogers nodded and together they headed back to Avengers Tower.


End file.
